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Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying

Saturday's action, including qualifying, ahead of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

F1 returns to the unique Baku Street Circuit for the eighth round of the 2022 championship, the second street event in a row following the Monaco GP.

Sergio Perez was the winner last time out, and now sits only 15 points behind championship leader and team-mate Max Verstappen - as Charles Leclerc remains between them in second in the drivers' standings.

Verstappen will be looking for retribution after his spectacular tyre blowout at last year's Baku race, which cost him victory in Azerbaijan's capital city.

Charles Leclerc topped Friday’s second practice for Ferrari ahead of Perez and Verstappen.

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There's still some dust and fluff on the exit of Turn 1 being thrown up by the F1 cars, while all drivers who have been out on track after sticking to installation laps so far.
Now both Mercs head out, starting their session with practice starts at the end of pitlane. Careful not to cross the pitlane exit line with a tyre, or is that just part of the tyre?
Stroll agrees and heads out early, shortly joined by Vettel, Schumacher and Magnussen.
Green flag
Right, enough stalling, let's get this party started.
Max Verstappen is strolling into the Red Bull garage and looks pretty relaxed. It looks like he won't be going out early in FP3 even with the delay.
The TBC has been withdraw, confirming final practice will start at a quarter past the hour. Just enough time to get a cuppa.
There won't be any lost track time, as the FP3 clock has started yet, in the same way it stops when there's a red flag in a practice session. But it does make the FP3-to-qualifying turnaround even shorter which teams will be wary of.
"Session will start at 15:15 (local time) TBC," according to the F1 race control messages. So take that as FP3 starting in 11 minutes, maybe later, but not any sooner.
The barriers are in place and the sponsor branding is being applied, so FP3 is mere moments away. Just contain that excitement for a few more minutes.
"Pink head padding material must be used," states the F1 race control updates. Even the head padding material gets upgraded in F1, as earlier this season it was blue.
The Tecpro barrier is being replaced at Turn 1 following that F2 crash, so the start of the session won't be too far away.
We were about to say there is just under 10 minutes until the start of final practice, but scratch that as the start of the session has been delayed. There was a big crash on the final lap of the F2 sprint race earlier, so the track is being cleaned up.
So here we are, a track fancied to be a stronghold for Red Bull with the 2022 cars, only for Leclerc to go quickest on Friday for Ferrari.
Lights green
Good day one and all - it is nearly time for final practice at the Azerbaijan GP, how are we all doing this fine Saturday?

By: autosport.com

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